One killer to another
by Soriya
Summary: The title says it all. Ok Riddick meets someone like himelf in prison but appears to have a completely different lifestyle.


-1In yet another fortress type prison with no means to escape Riddick was sitting in a cell waiting for his execution. Well at least that's what everyone thought he was doing. But really he was watching the guards switching their shifts and the spotlights passing his cell. He was counting in his mind between each one and contemplating a way of getting out of here. The rain with the thunder and lightening didn't distract him as he continued to count. He was chained to a wall by his wrists whilst standing on a metal shelf sticking out the brick wall.

The planet was constantly bombarded with rain and storms. They sealed up the windows and doors if a hurricane were to pass by and occasionally they did. Rain dripped in to the barred window on the other side of the prison leaving a puddle beneath it.

The killer wanted throughout the known universe had his concentration broken by some shouting. Two guard were coming to his door and flung it wide open. He the fat guard dragging in a young girl that couldn't have been more than fifteen tied by platinum chains by the look of things. Her hair was blacker than the darkest of nights. Her eyes burned with the colour red as she glared at the fat guard in front of her. She wore a black t-shirt with black combats and not too heavy duty boots so she could run, but deliver a nasty kick as well. Her skin was pale with no imperfections to be seen. There was the odd scar here and there but other than that her skin was perfect.

Another guard came in with a file writing something in it. He looked in a better state of health to the fat guard. "Hey Joey." The fat guard said to the other one. "I think this one's sweet on me." He said smiling at the girl who's glare turned deadly. "Put your dick away Dave so we can get the fuck off this planet. This is my last shift for this year."

"Yeah, yeah keep your shirt on Joey. I'm just gonna have some fun with this bitch here first."

Riddick watched as the man smashed his lips against hers. She retaliated by biting his lips so hard they bled. He smirked as he watched thin streams of blood come from the guards lips who let out a muffled cry of pain. When he drew back there were teeth impressions on and around his lips. "YOU STUPID WHORE!" He yelled and back handed her so hard her teeth cut in to the inside of her cheek. She spat out some blood and looked at the man. "Your going to die tonight." She said in a low, dangerous voice. "Oh yeah? Well I'm not the one who's tied up girly."

"Really?" She said and opened her arms leaving the chains to dangle in one of her hands. "Guess again."

"Holy sh-" The fat guard started to say only to have the chains wrapped around his head so she broke his neck. Joey tried to run out of there but her lightening fast movement removed the chains from Dave and whipped them in to the back of his head knocking him out. She came over and snapped his neck too. She spat out some more blood before wiping her lips free from the guard's blood.

She went out the cell for a moment before coming back now dressed in a long black coat with a hood over her head. There was also the glint of a long slick looking thing on her side running down to her ankles with her coat, it looked suspiciously like a sword. On the other side there was the handle of a gun also on the heavy duty belt running around her petit waist. She turned over the table and broke of a leg in two pieces with her sword which swished effortlessly through the air. Why she had done this became clear when she used it to bar the cell door after dragging in the other guard.

Riddick was really confused as she was blocking her only exit…his only exit. Next she went over to the fat guard and looked at his shirt. "Must be a bent officer to afford a silk shirt." She muttered. "Mara, hey Mara." The sounded like a very young boy. He watched as she took a palm sized communicator out of her pocket. "Yeah tech?" She said in to it. "The ship will be there in a few minutes." The voice on the device said whispering to her. "Great. Oh and Tech, you don't need to whisper." The girl said and put the device back in to her pocket.

It was only when she turned her head did she notice Riddick hanging on the wall. "Well hello there." She said uncertain whether he could trust him or not. He said nothing and just continued to stare at her like she was mad. "You're a first. Usually my cell mates want to come with me. Should I let you go?"

"If it's not too much trouble." Riddick said with an eyebrow raised wondering how someone like her could speak so politely. He was sure she was as cold hearted as he was. "Give me a moment to get the key." She said and unbarred the door before going out the cell again. She came back with a device that would open the locks on his wrists via laser beam. It did the trick and he stepped off the shelf to the ground. She chucked him a guard coat with a hood and he put it on. "What are you doing?" He asked as she applied the bar on the door again. "The exit over there requires voice command. The panel to the wires to open the door is too well protected to get out of here before the next shift." She said taking off the fat guards shirt with no care at all. "And you're doing what now?" He asked watching as she soaked the shirt in the puddle and wrapped it around the bars. "Why not just use your sword?"

"It won't cut through these bars." She tied a piece of the table leg to the shirt forming a loop around the bars. "Why the shirt?"

"You'll see." She said and stared turning the bar. Riddick watched with interest as the shirt became tighter and tighter. Then he could hear the girl starting to struggle. He sighed and looked at the guards searching them for anything they might need. After about a minute of struggling he heard the unmistakable sound of metal bending under increased pressure. He looked up to see the girl still turning the shirt if not slower than before. The bars were ever so slowly starting to bend to her will. Riddick came over wondering how she could have so much strength. She gasped as she tried to turn it even more only to notice Riddick standing beside her. "Here, you're stronger than me. You do this and I'll give you a lift off this planet to anywhere you want to go."

"Anywhere?"

"Unless it's life threatening then yes, you want to get out of here too don't you?" She asked and didn't have to wait for Riddick to make up his mind. She stepped aside and watched as she turned the shirt easily making the bars bend. He struggled with the last two turns so he could fit through the gap as well. The girl jumped up to the window and crawled out the hole. She pulled Riddick through the window as he had to go sideways to fit because of his muscular body.

After that they hid behind a large bolder watching the lights swing this way and that. "Come on." The girl waited for a few seconds before running out in to the grounds with Riddick right behind her. He ran in the same path dodging the lights and watchful eyes of the guards on the towers. She seemed to know exactly where she was going. When they stopped by a wall she felt along it in the darkness. But Riddick lifted his goggles to see a rope dangling in the shadows behind her. He put is goggles back down and cleared his throat making the girl turn to look at him. "Is this what you were looking for?" He asked and she took it from him. "Thanks." She said and climbed up it without a second thought.

It took less than a minute to get up and over the wall. Then she pulled the rope over the wall and climbed down it to the ground. "Right. Now we have to go through the cliffs up ahead and walk along the gap in between them. After that there is a cave leading far away from the cliffs. At the end of that is my ship."

"How long have you been planning this?"

"Oh, not that long. Only about three days." She said in an off hand kind of way. With her back turned to Riddick she didn't see the impressed look upon his face. She was strong and he had a feeling this was someone you didn't want to get on the wrong side of or loose something like your life. She reminded Riddick of himself which made it disturbing how a kid could be like him.

When they reached the cliffs they walked along the path cut in between the fifty foot high walls of rock. He could sense no fear coming from her as they continued to walk quickly towards the cave he could see in the distance. They had to run the last thirty feet as a hurricane started to pass over head.

They entered the cave and she put a flash light on to see her way through it. When they travelled a fair distance the light started to fade. The girl growled and whacked it against her hand a couple of times. Riddick could hear the circuitry rattling around in it but the light was going out. "Dammit! I'll kill him!" She yelled and threw the light against the wall and he heard it shatter. "Fuck! I told him to change the bloody bulbs!" She growled walking towards the light in the distance which was the caves entrance behind Riddick. He put a hand on her shoulder and she looked at him. "Unless you want to live I suggest we go back and walk around the cliffs."

"No, they'll catch us."

"Well what then? Can you see in the dark?" She asked and Riddick took off his goggles to turn his head and look at her. She saw his glowing eyes and found them to be fascinating. "I guess you can." He took her hand and led her though the dark as though she were blind. Being in nothing but darkness she kind of was. For five minutes they walked along the path heading to the other side of the cave. When the exit grew in size she was able to see again and didn't need Riddick to lead her by the hand anymore so she let go. He put his goggles back on before they left and there was her ship just like she said.

It looked like a huge merchant's space ship able to travel long distances and can be lived in by about ten people. It was grey in colour and bulky but fast enough with those twin turbo engines to get away from any military or police cruiser. They ran on to the ramp just as the sirens from the prison went off. "Guess they found out we're missing." Riddick said making the girl smirk as the ship took off. "Too late now." She said. Within minutes they were in space and headed as far from the planet at full speed. They were headed to neutral territory to think on their next plan of action.

Riddick followed her to the bridge where a boy around ten years of age in Riddick's eyes was fixing some circuitry. He had brown hair and very tired looking blue eyes. "Hey Tech." She said and he looked up at her with a big smile on his face. "Hey Mara, did you kill any guards today?"

"Just as few. Weren't that many around to kill anyway. Mind you I wouldn't want to work there either, the place was a real shit hole. This guy will probably agree with me." She said thumbing to Riddick. Tech looked over and said hello before getting back to his work. "Don't let his age fool you." She told Riddick as they walked towards the cockpit. "Hey may look young but is smarter than all of us put together when it comes to anything technical. Hence the nickname." She said and walked up to the pilot and co-pilots chair.

She looked in between them. The pilot waved a hand behind him so Riddick didn't see his face but the co-pilot stuck her head over the seat. She looked to be in her mid-thirties with red hair and green eyes. She smiled and said hello before sliding down back in her seat.

A man in his early twenties came through the doors leading to the bridge. "Hey doc. What's up?" The girl said coming back over to Riddick. The doctor smirked and looked at her. "They've risen the price on your head about two thousand more." He said and she sighed. "Is that all? I would've at least thought they'd rise it by about another thousand for that fatty I killed in my cell." She said and he rolled his eyes. "When will you learn killing is not a good thing?" He said in an exasperated sort of way. "When people stop trying to kill me then I'll stop."

"That'll be never." He sighed again. "Honestly Mara. By the time you've reached his age you will have killed more people than him." He said looking at Riddick with questioning eyes. Mara turned and looked at Riddick. "Oh yeah, I never asked your name."

"Riddick." He said simply and she heard the pilots gasp. But the doctor already knew and the kid didn't know who he was and just went back to fixing things. "Ooh. so you're the one every bounty hunter and authority is after. I have to say your CV is pretty impressive." Mara said looking him up and down. The doors opened again to see a middle aged man with Greying black hair and grey eyes. "We got a job." He said in a deep voice making the very air around them tremor. Riddick looked upon this tough looking man with great interest and two words going through his mind…Bounty hunter.

Mara took the plastic sheet from him and read what they got. She looked at it with a pleased expression at first before her face fell and she glared at the paper. "Did you even read this Maverick?" She growled not looking at him. "The reward is-"

"I know the reward is high…ok very high. But I have only two rules. No pregnant women or children. Jesus Christ Maverick! We're assassins not butchers! This kid is the same age as Tech. If he had a price on his head that high would you-" She stopped seeing the man look thoughtful. "I'm asking the wrong person here. No children!" She yelled scrunching up the message and throwing it in the garbage disposal unit. Riddick watched Maverick glare at her but made no move to hurt her. "End of! I don't care how much they offer. Even I have some principles when it comes to our jobs. People who kill children are no less than the scummiest people in the known universe. It's something we all agreed upon. You want the job then fine but your going alone and we won't be here when you get back!" She then put a hand on her side and took in a quick breath of pain. "Doc I need you to patch me up."

"What happened this time?" The doctor asked as Maverick left. "Only this" She said lifting her t-shirt to show a blast wound from an electric paralysing gun used on prisoners. Riddick was fortunate enough to avoid them and broke a guards nose when he tried to use it on him. It was covered in a black piece of her t-shirt from the back. No wonder Riddick didn't notice she was hurt. It was like she couldn't feel it at all. "Step in to my office." The doctor said getting out of her way. "Said the spider to the fly." She joked earning a glare from the doctor and a giggle from the boy. "Tech, take Riddick to a spare room and don't annoy him. He's most likely a better killer than I am."

"Ok Mara." The kid said finishing what he was doing and putting the wires out of harms way. "You can tell me where you want to go at lunch. I'll see you in an hour or two." She said to Riddick and followed the doctor out of the bridge.

It took Tech a few minutes before he got up and dusted himself down. He went over to the doors and looked over to Riddick. "Follow me." He said and Riddick did so. The kid just walked along the corridor looking around seeing if anything else needed to be fixed. He sighed when he saw a flickering light lining the path along the floor. "This ship is so old I'm surprised it doesn't fall apart." He groaned and took out a tool or two. He looked at Riddick for a moment. "You don't mind if I just fix this do you? If I don't then they'll start going one by one making it an even bigger job than it was before." He said and Riddick just looked at him. "I've got nothing to do for two hours. Need any help?"

"Nah I got it. It'll only take a couple of minutes anyway." Tech said and unscrewed the light before removing it with wire running from it. Riddick watched as the kid went through the wires quickly until he found one that wasn't quite connected. He fixed the problem and put the light back in and it stopped flickering. "Presto. Now I'll show you to your room."

When they got there Riddick was surprised to find a room about six metres in all directions, except for the roof which was only three metres high from the floor. Inside was a king sized bed, a computer, a closet and next door was a shower and toilet with a sink as well. "It's not the biggest room but I hope it's ok." Tech said and Riddick raised and eyebrow in question wondering how many ships this kid had been on. "It's better than my last room." Was all he could think to say. The little boy smiled and turned to head back to the bridge. "Hold on. I need someone tell me what is going on around here and who's who." Tech stopped. "It's a long story." He said but again Riddick just looked at him. "I have two hours to kill-" He said earning a frightened look from the boy making Riddick laugh a bit. "It's just an expression kid get over it."

"Phew." Tech breathed and looked up at Riddick. "Ok, I'll tell you what I know." They moved over to Riddick's bed and he lay back listening to the kid who sat beside him.

"This ship belonged to Sully the Pilot and Aerial the Co-pilot's parents. They turned to robbing other merchant ships when there was nothing to sell after their parents were killed from space pirates. This ship may not look it but it has some mean fire power." He said so enthusiastically Riddick felt his lips being tugged in to a very slight smile. "They were nearly killed when some space pirates tried to take their ship. But then Mara and Maverick showed up in their fighter ships and blasted them all to hell." He made a few gun fire sounds to illustrate what happened. Then he remembered what the girl had told him and decided to clam up and get on with the story. He didn't want to be on a murder's list that's for sure.

"Then after that the doc came along when we rescued him from a prison ship. He was arrested for helping his mother die from a morphine overdose because there was no cure for her illness. Maverick used to be a bounty hunter but now there's a bounty on his head because he killed a few military people for getting in his way. He sees only money but can have his heart in the right place…sometimes. Although with what Mara said about you I would watch your back if the price on your head is more than hers. He was a little tempted when he heard about Mara's but wouldn't trade her for all the money in the universe."

"Why?"

"Because she's saved his life on many occasion when they're out working. If you've seen her kill you'll know why. Maverick isn't exactly a spring chicken but isn't bad either. Although if it wasn't for Mara he'd probably be dead by now…actually he'd certainly be dead. It was she that got him out of prison when she was captured. They only managed to capture her in the last one after they sent a hundred man after her. Only five returned with her unconscious. The rest died in very nasty ways as she got the jump on them through the labyrinth of caves on another planet where she was waiting for them."

"Yes, it took about the same number with me as well only in different circumstances." Riddick smirked. "Mara. What's the story with her?"

"She's hardly speaks about her past. It's like she doesn't want to remember it and just avoids the subject. But what she did tell me was really sad. On her planet when babies are born they are scanned by a machine and are instantly given a name to suit the child. It never fails and the parents are always happy with them. But when Mara was born something wasn't right. They took the machine and scanned her, but no name flashed upon it's screen. So they did it again and again wondering what was wrong. The machine was fine and in perfect working order. They looked at the baby girl in the doctor's arms and the parents were frightened. She was taken to a temple by her parents where orphans and babies were abandoned with a note attached to Mara explaining everything. So the holy people took her in and in their language called her 'Mara' which means 'nameless one.' Is that all you want to know?"

"What about you?" He asked but got no reply. He looked up to see Tech had paled and stared fearfully out in to space. "I-I'm going back t-to the bridge now. See you l-later Riddick." He stammered and walked out the room as fast as he could. Riddick sighed and closed his eyes laying his head back on the comfiest bed he had been on in a long time. Slowly his eyes started to close and soon he was asleep.


End file.
